Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig..

We made it home last night around 6. Then changed clothes and went out again to grab a quick meal and get some groceries.

Our vacation was fantastic! The only 2 things that could have made it better were more money and less bad eating. I ate horrible while we were gone. Why? I'm an idiot. I have no excuses other than that. Anyhow, I'm up about 5 lbs. I'm not changing my progress stats or anything. I expect to have all 5 lbs off very soon.

So here's what we did:

Wednesday was spent driving mostly. Hubby had to work his sales route on the way so we sat in the truck and read or listened to the radio most of the time.

Thursday we did a bit more driving and then checked into our hotel room. We spent most of the day relaxing at the room. That night we went to see the Titanic Museum, which is amazing, and then spent the rest of the evening at Branson Landing. We shopped at Bass Pro, had dinner and just enjoyed looking around.

Friday we got up early and spent most of the day at Silver Dollar City. We had a great time. My son rode his first loop-de-loop roller coaster (Wildfire) with me! He loved it! I'm a huge ride nut and love stuff like that. My hubby hates heights. He's rode a couple of rollar coasters with me and thinks the ride itself is fun.. but he can't open his eyes during the ride due to the height issues. My daughter has those same issues. She freaks when she gets up high. She wanted to ride a big roller coaster with me (the PowderKeg) and I told her I wasn't sure. She said she was scared but wanted to try it. In short, she hated it. No high stuff for her. At all.
They have a new ride called The Giant Swing. This thing was awesome! Matt rode it with me, but he wasn't sure he liked it. Make sure you watch the video on the link to see exactly what this ride was like. My all time favorite ride in SDC is The Electro Spin. There is a video link you can watch here as well if you wanna see what it's about. That night we checked into the time-share (which I will refer to from now on as the "house") and enjoyed relaxing there. Hubby took full advantage of the whirlpool tub. :0)

Saturday we hung around the "house" while I did laundry. Around 5 pm we took the kids to Celebration City, which is another amusement park. It's also owned by Silver Dollar City and picks up where SDC leaves off. SDC closes at 7 and CC is open from 3pm to 10 pm. We rode a few rides and watched a Veggie Tales show, which is a family favorite of ours. At 9:30 we enjoyed their awesome laser light and fireworks show.

Sunday was spent sleeping and recuperating at the "house". We did leave once to drive the kids by Table Rock Lake and Dam.

Monday we packed up our things, said a sad goodbye to the "house", and left. We stopped for breakfast and then drove on to our next destination, Meramec Caves. We arrived around 1 p.m. and rented a raft for the 2 p.m. float trip. We had lunch and waited on the bus to pick us up. The driver then informs us that the river is running so slow that a raft my very well take us several hours longer than we expected. The canoes can make the 5 mile trip in about 3 hours, if you paddle constantly. The raft would normally take 5 hours (which would put us back at the truck by 7 p.m.), but the previous day they had someone who didn't make it back until 9. I was already a bit nervous about this, so the idea of floating back in the dark did not appeal to me at all. We changed our minds and took the canoe. We had a wonderful time, despite the fact that we almost got dumped into the river a couple of times and we got stuck on a log twice. Hubby and I both paddled most of the way, and let me tell you, my arms got a good workout! I'm feeling arm, back and shoulder muscles I forgot I had. I sadly don't have any photos to share of the canoe trip. I was too scared my camera would get dumped in the drink. I think it was a wise decision considering how many times we had close calls. We did stop in one shallow spot and wade around. The kids loved it. They kept lying on their backs, while in life vests, and letting the gentle current carry them a little ways. It really was a lot of fun.

So there you have it. What I did on my summer vacation...

Here are some pictures (you so knew these were coming..)


Matt (pointing at Dad), Rachel and I (in front of picture) on the Wildcat Roller Coaster in Celebration City. (Rachel liked this one)


Rachel and Matt on the kids coaster at Silver Dollar City. This was one of those pictures they sell you after the ride is over.



Matt and Rachel goofing off at Bass Pro. "I can squeeze your head with my fingers!"


I need to upload the rest to my flickr account. I'll let you know when I do so you can see more if you'd like. Ok.. lots to do to play catch-up around here. Later!